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LCD Monitors-What's Right For You?



LCD monitors come in many sizes, styles and prices. Is size and price the only consideration you give to buying your next monitor? Probably. But should you consider more?



Flat Panel LCD Monitor Resolutions

Resolution of an LCD Monitor can come in many varieties. What is resolution? Resolution (such as 1280X1024 pixels) is the horizontal and vertical pixels that make up a screen. Below are some different resolution technologies you may encounter.

VA Panel Technology- (Vertical Alignment Technology) an LCD panel with VA panel technology is the middle of the road monitor. It is a great choice for business. It reduces eye strain if you're working with spreadsheets or documents for long periods of time. They are slightly slower than that of a TN monitor.

TN panel (Twisted Nemantic)- a TN panel is the most widely used monitor. It is cheaper, and offer faster response times. Which is why it makes a good choice for a gamer.

IPS-(In Plane Switching) based LCD monitor- Great for image editing but they are very expensive. They are slower than TN panels, and for a gamer who need a good response time-look elsewhere. You will probably end up seeing ghosting or motion blurring, Which does not make your gaming experience enjoyable.


LCD Screen 

Size
Experts say that wide-screen screens decrease in quality as they get above the 20 inch mark. Makes sense, think about the quality of a photograph. 

As the photo gets larger the grainier the image will appear. So the closer the pixels, the better the picture quality on a screen. Personally, I've found the 22" to give an acceptable amount of quality, without much distortion.


Contrast Ratio
A monitor's contrast ratio is the ratio from the brightest whites to the darkest black. Be aware there is no standard set for this ratio. However, note that the higher the contrast ratio, you will see deeper blacks and brighter whites.


Viewing Angle
The Viewing angle is how far you can move to the left or right of the screen's center, while still seeing a quality image. This feature is important if you're going to be using it for presentations or more than one viewer is viewing at the same time.


LCD Monitor Connectors and Stands

Before buying an LCD monitor be sure and check the type of connector your video card can use. This will ensure you get a compatible monitor. 


LCD Monitor Stands
Many people forget about the stands and concentrate on the monitor itself. However, a stand gives you the advantage of height, tilt and swivel adjustments. This in truth is important especially if you are going to be sitting for long periods in front of a computer.

In fact, height, tilt and swivel are generally the critical types of adjustments that will allow you greatest flexibility when using the monitor in an ergonomic manner.



Warranty

More company's offer a 1-year warranty. However, if you see a monitor with a 3-year warranty you will know that the monitor has quality parts. If you read the warranty carefully, you may notice a reference about dead pixels. 

A dead pixel is a malfunctioning pixel that shows as tiny red, blue, or green dots on your screen. To get the warranty to kick in you have to know the company's policy as to how many pixels must be dead or stuck before they will replace your LCD panel. So, if you have this problem there is a free pixel checker - Dead Pixel Buddy-that can determine your pixel ratio.


To conclude, though price is always an important factor to consider, you should also think  about how you are going to be using your monitor.


Touch Screen Monitors

If you are thinking about converting over to Windows 7 and want to utilize their Touch Screen technology you will need a Touch Screen Monitor. A Touch Screen Monitor works with a finger, a stylus or even a gloved hand. 

The Touch Screen Monitor have three different systems that can recognize touch-and with it comes the differences in price.

The three basic systems used to recognize touch are:

1. Resistive
2. Capacitive
3. Surface acoustic wave


Resistive System

The Resistive system consists of a normal panel that consists of two layers: a resistive metallic layer and conductive layer. A special driver will translate the touch so that the operating system can understand the movements. The computer operating system translates the touch similar to that of a mouse.


Capacitive System 

The capacitive system has a layer that stores an electrical charge on the glass panel of the monitor. When the user touches the monitor the circuits that are located on the corners of the monitor will give the computer the information, the computer calculates the position of the touch, and then relays the information to the driver software of the touch-screen.

Advantage over resistive: Much clearer picture than that of the resistive system due to
the higher percentage of light transmission.

90%- Capacitive
75%- Resistive

The surface acoustic wave system have two transducers (receiving and sending) which are placed along the x and y axes of the monitor glass plate. The reflectors reflect the electrical signal sent by one transducer to the other, which gives the software the information to where and what you are touching on the screen.

The Resistive System is the cheapest solution for those on a budget, offering the lowest in-clarity, and the ability for the system to be damaged by sharp objects. The surface acoustic wave system is the highest priced system.